Sunday, November 29, 2015

Obedience on Fleek

One of my favorite stories in the bible can be found in Genesis 22 where God tests Abraham.
God speaks to Abraham asking him to "take [his] son, [his] only son, whom [he] loves, and sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain."

After reading Abraham's reaction to God's request, I can never help but to laugh out loud! The next morning, Abraham simply rose and did exactly as God asked. (Find full story here: Genesis 22).

Can you say obedience on fleek!? Imagine God asking you to let go of something that you love dearly. To take your hands off what you thought was yours. To surrender your will, and your possessions. Now imagine you had the same response as Abraham. He asked Abraham to surrender his only son, who he loved. And without any questions, Abraham marched right up to that mountain ready to do exactly what God asked.

I laugh (nervously I must admit) because I imagine myself having obedience like Abraham. Letting go of all I am and all I have and offering it unto God. I laugh because I imagine the unrelenting trust Abraham had for God. I laugh because I wonder how it must feel to be worry-free like Abraham. He didn't contemplate the what ifs. He did not stop to ask God "why?" He did not consult with his wife, or any other human being. He simply did. He simply let go. He simply submitted.
He was simply obedient. 

Sometimes God may require us to let go of and sacrifice the very thing we love- requiring us to only hold on to His promises, requiring us to hold tightly to faith, requiring us to cling unto Him - in order to bring us to the greater thing He has set apart for us.

As this year draws to a close, I urge myself (and of course my dear readers) to consider obedience like Abraham. Imagine how our lives will look if we simply surrendered all?

**Have you heard the Sunday school song: 
Father Abraham had many sons, many sons are Father Abraham's. I am one of them, and so are you. So let's just praise the Lord!

Yup! All those sons are a product of Abraham's obedience! 
lObedience on fleek = blessings on blessings! (lol)

--
 Outfit Details:
Top: Topshop (London)
Black Skirt: Friends Closet :D
Shoes: Primark






SHARE:

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Finding Rest & Maintaining Balance



If you're anything like me, you thrive off busy days, lack of sleep, and a constantly filled calendar (with no time scheduled for R&R). There's just something about the busy life that I absolutely love! (Maybe it's the fact that the more busy I am, the less time I have for those socially awkward encounters...which I'll talk more about later)..

While in London, my schedule has been nothing but (organized) chaos. While studying full time, I found some way to keep even busier with one full time job and one part time job. Now that I'm no longer a student my schedule seems even more hectic. When I'm not jumping from train to tube to bus, I'm zig zagging though Oxford Street or preparing things for a client.. I've realized that while I love keeping busy, the pressures of all my deadline was slowly getting to me and suddenly realized how anxiety can slowly creep up! 


I've found these 5 tips useful in finding rest and maintaining balance in my seemingly hectic life.
  1. Respect your time. This means creating a schedule. Sticking to appointments. Ensuring that colleagues, business partners etc also follow suit and also respect this space. (and making sure that this is reciprocal)!
  2. Be vocal. Don't be afraid to let those around you (i.e. boss, colleagues, etc) know when you're feeling stressed or getting anxiety. If your work load is too much for you to handle, speak up!
  3. Learn how to say "no." While balancing academics and work, I've learned to hard way that it is okay to tell people when you are unable to deliver. This can apply to almost anything: no to meeting up with friends for a night out when you just have way too much on your plate; no to taking on another client for business services...
  4. Be intentional about "me time." I've recently learned the essence of taking just a small amount of my day to focus on me. In this time, I often spend time with God and work on spiritual growth and refuel what my day has taken out of me. I love reading the book of Psalms and perusing those calming passages. I also find it refreshing to take some time to watch a comedy..(lately it's been The Proud Family!!! Yesss...I found it on YouTube, y'all...and it's been giving me life and laughter!). So, be intentional about taking some time out daily to do something you you! (Maybe even a mani/pedi!).
  5. Protect your resting space. During this past summer and early autumn, I struggled to maintain a normal sleep pattern and had so much trouble sleeping. I would often fall asleep by 2am and wake up around 6am every day. What kept me up? Work. Or the thought of work. I'd often fall asleep with my notebook right next to my pillow and my laptop not too far away. I had to learn to protect the one space I had for rest.My bedroom. For some time I did not allow myself to work in my room and made it a rule that I would do work everywhere but that space. Soon after I started separating work and rest, my bedroom became less associated with anxiety and my sleeping pattern was once again back to normal.

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" 

- Matthew 11:28

SHARE:
Blogger Template Created by pipdig